Ion Păun

Ion Păun ( born February 17, 1951 in Draganu, county Arges ) is a former Romanian wrestler. He was European Champion 1977 in Greco-Roman style in featherweight.

Career

Ion Păun began at the age of twelve years with the rings. After initial successes at junior level he went to the police and has been delegated to the Sport Club Dinamo Bucharest. As Dinamo- athlete, he had all the freedom to practice in socialist Romania. Since 1970 he was a member of the Romanian national team of wrestlers. In 1971 he defeated in Bucharest in Romania a country fighting against the Federal Republic of Germany Emil Mueller from Mainz to points and 1972 he wrestled in three countries fighting in Germany three times against Helmut Westphal from Aalen. Here, each of the two wrestlers won once and a fight ended in a draw.

His first start in an international championship graduated Ion Păun who wrestled only in the Greco-Roman style, at the 1972 European Championship in Katowice. He finished there in the featherweight with three wins and a draw and a defeat against Kazimierz Lipień from Poland, with whom he should deliver many hard fights still, the 5th Place. At the Olympic Games in Munich, he was also employed there and managed two wins and a draw against the silver medal winner Heinz -Helmut Wehling. However, after a defeat against Hideo Fujimoto from Japan, he left and came to 6th place.

1973 Ion Păun was first Romanian featherweight champion and missed at the World Championships in Tehran featherweight with a 4th place just a medal. He lost it after four wins the decisive battles against Kazimierz Lipień and László Réczi from Hungary.

At the European Championships 1974 in Madrid, he came to 3rd place and so won his first medal at an international championship. In a very serious tournament, he defeated while the Olympic champion from 1972 Georgi Markov from Bulgaria and Kazimierz Lipień and wrestled draw against László Réczi. He suffered from Anatoli Kawkajew from the USSR defeat. At the World Championships this year in Katowice, he lost again against Kawkajew and also against Kazimierz Lipień and came in 8th place.

Also in 1975 reached Ion Păun good results. Especially the 5th place at the World Championship in Minsk deserves mention. At the European Championships in 1976 in Leningrad, he defeated featherweight, inter alia, the strong Soviet Starter Suren Nalbandian, but had to admit defeat in the final turn, Kazimierz Lipień. As Vice - European Champion, he then took part in Montreal for the second time in the Olympic Games. With three wins and two defeats he improved in the result compared to Munich, but missed 5th place again a medal.

In the following years he won more then four medals at international championships. He defeated it several times German champion Thomas Passarelli, from which he was however defeated in the 1978 World Cup in Mexico City. In 1977 he celebrated the biggest success of his career, he was in Bursa Europe featherweight champion. In the final battle of that tournament he defeated while Ryszard Świerad from Poland and was defeated by László Réczi, which was in turn defeated by Świerad. The best points ratio of these three wrestlers had but Ion Păun, which thereby became European Champion. In 1977 he occupied at the World Championships in Gothenburg also the 3rd place in the featherweight, defeated by László Réczi and Kazimierz Lipień.

1978 Ion Păun was European Vice-Champion in Oslo. He defeated it with Boris Kramarenko from the USSR and István Tóth of Hungary two absolute top wrestler. Kazimierz Lipień but once again was better than him and defeated him in the final battle. The last medal at an international championship won Ion Păun then with a 3rd place at the European Championship 1980 in Prievidza. In this championship, the first three winners defeated each other. Păun won against Nelson Dawidjan from the USSR, but was defeated by Ryszard Świerad, which was in turn defeated by Dawidjan. In the final account Dawidjan won ahead Świerad and Ion Păun.

At the end of his international career started Ringer Ion Păun 1980 in Moscow for the third time in Olympic others playing. Here, however, no luck it was granted, because he lost there against Lars Malmkvist from Sweden and Ivan Frgić from Yugoslavia and only came on the 9th Place.

After the World Cup 1981 in Oslo, where he finished only 13th place, he resigned from the International Ringer sport, but was active at the national level until 1984. His further life is unknown.

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, European Championship EM =, GR = Greco-Roman style, Ba = bantamweight, featherweight = Fe )

Swell

• Journals athletics,
• Journal The wrestler, numbers 06/07/77, 11/77, 5 /78 9/78, 5/79, 5 /80 8/80 and 9/81
• Documentation of International Wrestling Championships FILA, 1976, pages O -94, W-112, W -121, W -126, O- 99, E -97, E -104, E -114